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Polaroid Cameras

It is rare for us to come close to understanding what it was like for Neanderthal man to discover fire or for Victorians to witness electric light, how the first people to watch a cinema projection of a steam train ran out of the theatre in fear, or the sheer wonder of the first television pictures.

But anyone who was around when Polaroid cameras came out will have some inkling.

That first shot, the picture being ejected with a robotic whir, ripping the protective wrapper off and then watching as slowly, ever so slowly, an image began to emerge.

It was magic, sheer magic. The stuff of witches, wizards, and sorcery.

Instant cameras (they weren’t just made by Polaroid but their name became synonymous with the technology, just as Hoover’s did with vacuum cleaners) had been around since the ’60s, but it was in the ’70s that they started turning up in people’s homes and were more widely used. The distinctive print with its thick white border has become an icon.

In this modern age of digital cameras, the Polaroid is viewed as an antique, although it still has a cult following. The company announced that it was ceasing production of instant film in 2008, but had to reverse the decision a year later due to overwhelming public demand.

So, not quite extinct yet, but certainly endangered.

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